Win this and Atlético’s last few days will have been like the climactic end-game in the Godfather when Michael Corleone hacks down every single one of his would be rivals.

Both Valencia and Sevilla legitimately have their eye on clawing points from the big three and, who knows, possibly testing Atlético’s chin with a few hooks and jabs across the season. Probe for weaknesses.

But Diego ‘El Cholo’ Simeone was back from his ban last weekend. The man in black walked the line again. Or prowled. Result? Sevilla were ripped to shreds – 4-0.

Midweek Atlético went toe-to-toe with the runaway Italian champions in the Champions League and cut Juve down to size too.
The Tattaglias and Barzinis down. Just Moe Greene left.

Valencia. They shouldn’t be credible for third place but if Peter Lim’s takeover is confirmed and if Jorge Mendes keeps putting his formidable transfer market power at Valencia’s disposal then you never know.

Paco Alcácer has four goals and a goal assist in his last five games while Rodrigo, a Real Madrid youth product, would love to send one into Atlético’s ribs.

They’ll face Miguel Ángel Moyà who’s time as Valencia’s keeper was plagued by both injuries and doubts about his top level mentality – will he fluff his return lines or steal the show?

Atlético continue to produce set-play gems and, importantly, to win the second ball around the box. Both centre backs, Mandzukic, Raúl García and the wonderful Arda all look like scoring value in, potentially, a 2-2 draw.

• Valencia 17/10, Atletico Madrid 13/8, Draw 11/5 – Bet Now: Desktop | Mobile
  

Rayo Vallecano (11th) v Barcelona (1st) – Saturday 5pm

A match between two clubs in a race to see which one can be first to resemble Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona.

The Catalans spent well over €100m in the summer.
Paco Jémez has had to cope with incorporating 17 new players, swapped, borrowed or found down the back of the sofa. You’d think that the visitors might get there first.

But it’s Rayo’s desire to reproduce the best of the Guardiola ideal at Vallecas which tells you this should be a corker of a game.

So successful is Jémez that in 2013 Rayo ended Barcelona’s 317 game run since 2008 when they had always dominated possession. But despite owning the ball for 54% of the time they still lost 4-0.

Rayo don’t have a Petrodollar billionaire owner like PSG but their scouts will have seen the Parisians showing, in winning 3-2 on Tuesday, that if you run at the Blaugrana full backs, if you get quality crosses into the box – fun things can result.

Leo Baptistão has not only scored four times [two off his right foot, one off his left and one header] in two consecutive wins over Athletic and Levante, but he’s precisely the quick footed, hard running striker who might cause danger.

Worth a look for a goal as is Alberto Bueno [Bertie Good] who has four in six and who won the 2006 European U19 Championship with Juan Mata and Gerard Piqué for Spain against Scotland.

Jordi Alba, Andrés Iniesta and Pedro are all notably lacking form for Barcelona who are neither invulnerable nor as intimidating now as they once were.

But Rayo’s attacking, front foot, ‘un-park the bus and drive it through the opposition defence’ will also allow space for Leo Messi, Neymar, Munir and possibly even Xavi who looks fresh and with a free kick goal in him pretty soon.

There should be goals, entertainment and three points for the league leaders despite the whiff of a shock.

• Rayo Vallecano 8/1, Barcelona 1/10, Draw 9/2 – Bet Now: Desktop | Mobile

Real Madrid (5th) v Athletic Bilbao (16th) – Sunday 8pm

Okay – quick quiz question. What links multimillionaire Thomas Gravesen, celebrity PSG fan David Beckham and racehorse owner Michael ‘Go on my son’ Owen?

Answer – they all started for Real Madrid the last time Athletic Bilbao won at the Bernabéu.

Nearly a decade ago.

Not a good for anyone who’s tempted to oppose Madrid based on the fact that this is last season’s fourth-placed club meeting the side which finished just a place above them.

And, just like in real life, the news gets worse and worse.

During that decade Madrid [home and away] have scored three or more goals against Athletic on 13 occasions. Defences on top… etc.

Right now the Basque club: sit a point off the bottom three, have only beaten Levante in La Liga, who ARE in the bottom three, this season; was beaten on its last trip to Madrid, ten days ago against Rayo, and its chief goal threat, Aritz Aduriz, has only ever scored once against Los Blancos – four and a half years ago for Mallorca.

After Athletic lost 2-1 to BATE on Tuesday their coach, Ernesto ‘The Ant’ Valverde savaged them: “We were super-weak, lacking in intensity and virtually unrecognisable”

Madrid, after 15 goals in three league games, centre their concerns around the rampant Cristiano Ronaldo.

He left the Ludogorets midweek win with a sore Achilles, victim of a studding, and thus whether or how he plays is of extreme interest. Last time he was absent for Madrid… they lost.

There is one interesting glimmer for the Basques – that 0-2 win back in February 2005 was coached by Valverde during his first spell in charge.

What’s that? You want another straw to cling to?

Fine. Madrid conceded YET another set piece goal to a header against Ludogorets in midweek, Aduriz’s only goal against Madrid was a header and he’s one of Europe’s finest exponents of the nod to the net.

More? Referee Alex Hernández Hernández in his two seasons in Spain’s elite has been in charge of Madrid three times – and they’ve lost twice.

To Malága and Celta.

And he sent two of Athletic’s opponents off in his first term in the big time.

That aside it looks like Madrid should score three, that Karim Benzema’s on bouncy form and is worth an ‘anytime’ punt [as is Ibai Gomez for the visitors] and that one of Spain’s champions league representatives might even be in a relegation position come late Sunday night.

• Real Madrid 1/5, Athletic Bilbao 13/1, Draw 11/2 – Bet Now: Deskop | Mobile

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European football expert Graham Hunter on how Carlos Ancellotti can get the best from Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale to keep a star-studded Real Madrid purring.

Carlos Queiroz was a failure as coach of Real Madrid. But part of the solution to Gareth Bale starting his Bernabéu career well and in a positive environment actually lies in the work of the Portuguese former assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson.

During spring and summer 2007 Queiroz came up with the theory that Ronaldo would benefit United if he were played predominantly down the middle and that a sudden change of orientation would help challenge the already prodigious player.

Queiroz told more than one confidant:

He’s the kind of guy for whom the ceiling is always too low. Cristiano needs to be challenged, needs to be pushed out of a comfort zone because he’s so good that he’ll always respond to such a situation.

The Champions League, the Premier League, European Golden Boot, FIFA World Player, the Ballon D’Or and 42 goals later it didn’t seem like a bad piece of deduction and invention from Ferguson’s sidekick.

The one problem is that Ronaldo didn’t enjoy the experience. He often phoned one particular ally, ex-United fitness coach Valter Di Salvo, to unburden his blues about where he was being played.

YOU WANT ME TO PLAY WHERE?  Keeping Ronaldo sweet is key to Madrid’s title ambitions

Flash forward to summer 2013.

Carlo Ancelotti knew when he signed up for duty at the Bernabéu that Bale was joining Madrid. Having mused over some ideas the Italian figured that one terrific way to accommodate a new signing in whose selection he’d played no part, was to use Ronaldo as a striker, not off the wing, and to use Bale either wide right or wide left.

On the blackboard it makes full football sense. Ronaldo was prolific last time he played there. Bale is a snug fit to this team if he’s raking down the left or the right and shooting on sight as is his signature – more pace, more power, more goals. Everybody’s happy.

Cue a deterioration in Real Madrid’s play, Ronaldo’s scoring rate and his demeanour. He didn’t like playing out-and-out striker then and he doesn’t now.

The cutest thing Ancelotti can do right now, so that Ronaldo looks upon the Welshman not a threat but a guy with similar talents, attitudes and athleticism who can help them all win big trophies – is to restore the Portuguese to his left-wing position.

It would mean, in all likelihood, an alteration to the formation – back to 4-2-3-1.

MAN IN THE MIDDLE: Carlo Ancelotti must get the Bale/Ronaldo balance right (pic: Inpho)

What does this mean for Bale?

There is one clear, potentially very productive berth for Bale and that’s down the right. It would displace one of the stars of this early season, Angel Di Maria … but that’s life at Madrid.

Bale at full tilt down the right and either crossing to find Ronaldo’s head or, more likely, cutting in to shoot at goal off his devastating left foot – is an attractive prospect.

The only dilemma is how to keep Alonso [when fit again] Illarramendi [ €40m this summer], Khedira [German World Cup stalwart], Modric [fan favourite and Bale chaperone] plus Casemiro [bought this summer] happy when there is only a two-man midfield. Again, over to you Carlo.

But there is an option which would work, which would draw on Ancelotti’s successful past and which would accommodate Di Maria – a clever, old-fashioned winger who opens up tight defences.

When Ancelotti was at his most successful at Milan, Kaká was at his footballing and athletic peak.

He played in front of a hard-working midfield, Seedorf, Ambrosini, Gattuso, and was given license to power down the middle of the pitch using his Olympic acceleration, shooting from distance and/or laying the ball off to wide players and looking for the return into the box.

Remind you of anybody? Welsh? Name of Bale?

BALE FORCE: The Welshman can tear it up in La Liga if given room to roam

There will be a myriad of games at the Bernabéu when Ancelotti’s Madrid face 10 men behind the ball and the frustration of trying to unpick massed-rank defences.

One extra solution, which Madrid have only been able to apply via the (now departed) Özil-Ronaldo connection until now is when they catch the opposition too high up the pitch, particularly at an attacking corner, allowing the then Jose Mourinho’s side to break at high pace. They’ll continue with that and Bale will thrive.

However, with Bale, there are scenarios now where Madrid can pick the ball up not far beyond the half-way line and, even if the opposition are not caught in disarray, allow Bale to run at them.

Most top technical departments around Europe have been left wondering this summer whether Bale’s excellence relies on him athletically powering past a slalom of players – rather than having the close skills ['a trick'] to jink past defenders from a static start.

One way to allow that debate to develop slowly, rather than to be immediately in the spotlight, is for Bale to take up different positions. This depends of course on how Ancelotti wants to play against certain rivals and whether Madrid are at home or away.

Away from home, with two holding midfielders and Bale on the right. Home with Di Maria wide right and Bale playing off one holding midfielder.

Equally, if Ronaldo is on the left and Bale playing down the middle then the prospect of Di Maria’s devastating crossing from the right adds a greater likelihood of headed goals.

Right foot for standing on?

Of all the times the Welshman has hit the net for club and country you can still count his right-footed goals on the fingers of one hand.

However, the percentage of times he hits the net with a header has been steadily increasing year on year.

Not something Ancelotti’s scouting team has missed in their analysis of the new boy.

Welcome to Spain Mr Bale. These are exciting times, not only for you but for those of us who wish that excellent British footballers would more often opt to better themselves and develop as individuals in some of the continent’s top clubs.

PS: Try to keep on Cristiano’s good side. Whether that’s the left, the right or … down the middle.

• Betting: Villarreal v Real Madrid  
• Read more Graham Hunter articles here 

Graham Hunter is the author of the award-winning book, Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World. He is a regular contributor to the Paddy Power Blog on football and an all-round good guy. Follow him on Twitter here

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